The dimensioning of a train is based on hypotheses relative to the conditions under which the train is meant to be operated. For example, the mission profile considered for the train, the quality of the railroad track on which the train will travel, the transported passenger mass, the distances traveled, the blast effect when passing through tunnels or passing by other trains, etc., will be taken into account.
These hypotheses are defined quite far upstream from the operating phase of the train, such that the actual operating conditions can differ from these initial hypotheses.
Furthermore, the European desire to extend mission profiles, the gradual deterioration of tracks, the opening of new lines on which the train travels, the higher occupancy rate, etc. cause the actual operation of a train to differ tremendously from the hypotheses initially formulated.
These deviations have a direct impact on the aging of the train, and consequently, on its maintenance and warranty, both in terms of safety and contractual obligations.
It is therefore necessary to create a knowledge base making it possible to monitor the actual operating conditions of a train, or more generally a fleet of trains, to guarantee the lifetime of the equipment and allow the reliable design of new trains.
The article by H. Tsunashima et al, “Japanese Railway Condition Monitoring Of Tracks Using In-Service Vehicle”, CBM conference 2011, discloses a system for monitoring the condition of a railroad track. The train is equipped with different sensors for example making it possible to detect an irregularity in the track from the vertical acceleration and lateral acceleration of the body of the train (the roll angle of the body being measured by using a gyroscope in order to distinguish between an irregularity in the track and an irregularity in the terrain) or, also for example, to detect rail corrugation from the noise measured in the cabin and the computation of the spectral peak. The train is also equipped with a system including a satellite positioning device, of the GPS type, able to implement a localization algorithm of the train on a geographical map to identify the precise location of the train and, consequently, that of a flaw detected by the onboard sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,504,225 B2 discloses a method for determining a remaining lifetime for a component of a rail vehicle operated on a known track. The train is equipped with different sensors making it possible to acquire measurements during the normal operation of the train. In particular, the train is equipped with a satellite localization device making it possible to geographically tag the measurements acquired by the onboard sensors. These measurements are next sent to a remote processing unit, on the ground, able to aggregate the received measurements over time and consequently update the value of a remaining lifetime of a component of the train.